In 1934, Black cave guide sold Mammoth Cave hotel for just $3,000

Matt Bransford and a glimpse of Mammoth Cave National ParkDeep below the forests of Kentucky is a world of water, stone and centuries-old human history. Mammoth Cave National Park has the world’s longest known cave system, but its story is about far more than underground passages. It’s also a story about indigenous exploration, enslaved guides, ambitious entrepreneurs, tourism, conservation, and families changed by the landscape’s transformation into a national park. One such story is that of Matt Bransford, a Black cave guide with family deep roots in Mammoth Cave and its tourism industry. Scroll down to read the story and what makes it so uniqueA cave with a history of thousands of yearsMammoth Cave is an incredible natural system, with more than 412 miles of mapped passages. Its limesto